When There’s Nowhere Else to Turn

I decided to come to Portugal from Germany, partly to rekindle memories of the beautiful Algarve, but mainly because I was running from an abusive partner.

in Community · 01 Nov 2026, 12:01 · 0 Comments

I needed to protect my young son and our two cats, so I drove to the Algarve.

When I arrived in Portugal, I expected to move into an apartment and find work. However, I soon discovered that the apartment rental was a complete scam, and I was forced to use what little money I had on renting Airbnb’s. It wasn’t long before my savings were completely depleted and we were forced to live in my car.
To feed my son and cats, I began selling my possessions, starting with my handbag, then my phone and eventually my grandmother’s necklace that had huge sentimental value to me. I soon had nothing else left to sell with any significant value.
It wasn’t long before I started to feel desperate. I was exhausted, hungry and anxious about where we would live and where we would find the next meal.
I decided to search online for help, and I came across the charity ‘AGAPE Homeless’. I had no idea what to expect, but I just told them my story. Within a few hours, members of Agape visited me, bringing essential items that would help us immediately. They brought a tent, a mattress, some food and a stove. They even contacted a local cat charity so that my cats could be fed.
Soon afterwards, Agape leveraged their network and, with the wonderful community help, were able to find a nearby campsite that we could stay at until a more permanent solution could be found. It wasn’t the ideal solution, but just having a patch of ground that we could call home for a while was a big thing for us.
Agape continued to help us long after their initial visit. They provided emotional support, blankets, food and other essentials to keep us going. They even brought presents for my son, who had a birthday during this difficult time.
After a short while and with the enormous generosity of one of the Agape donors, we were able to move into a proper home for a few months. I am now able to find work, and we are starting to get some degree of stability in our lives again.
This whole experience not only humbled me, but it gives me a renewed sense of faith in humanity. Agape gave us much more than material things. They listened to us; they cared for us and they loved us even though they had only just met us. These acts of kindness are almost impossible to understand. For me, there is something of God in that kind of goodness.
Faith can mean different things to different people, but I believe there are moments in life when God’s love reaches us through the hands of other human beings.
For us, Agape was one of those moments.
At the lowest point of my life, when I had nothing left and no idea where my child would sleep next, people appeared who cared.
I wanted to tell my story because I know that other people will experience similar or worse hardships than we did. The generous people that donate to AGAPE Homeless either financially or through volunteering can literally mean a meal for someone, a warm blanket, a shelter, a tiny piece of hope for somebody who has none left.

www.agapehomeless.org

One Year on the Streets - and Still Showing Up

AGAPE Homeless – Association for Generosity and Assistance to People in Exclusion is a volunteer-run non-profit association working across the Algarve.

Our street outreach began in Portimão almost exactly one year ago. Since then, volunteers have gone out every single week — come rain or shine.

Each week, they support people by providing food and whatever essential items they can source, including clothing, blankets, sleeping bags, and tents.

The majority of people Agape supports are local people, alongside some from different backgrounds who, for many different reasons, have found themselves facing homelessness, poverty or extreme hardship.

Every person has a different story.

More Than a Weekly Outreach

The weekly outreach is only part of Agape’s work.

Where resources and time allow, volunteers provide individual support throughout the week, working with people to help them move forward.

This can mean helping someone find accommodation, reconnecting with family and loved ones, helping look for work, supporting with documentation or connecting them with relevant services.

Not to mention helping with tents and sleeping bags to those who have no shelter. Access to medical care, transport to important appointments, or sometimes supplying essential medical supplies and prescriptions.

Over the past year, Agape has helped several people move
from the streets into accommodation and begin rebuilding their lives.

None of this is possible without people willing to give.

As winter approaches, the need becomes even greater.

Seasonal work reduces. Some people lose their jobs and income. The need for warm clothing, blankets, sleeping bags, food and shelter increases.

How You Can Help

Agape urgently needs people and businesses who are willing to stand alongside the organisation and support its work regularly.

Monthly financial donations - regular ongoing support is the greatest help to AGAPE Homeless; it helps us continue providing essential support every week but also to plan ahead. There is much more need. The more funds we have, the more we can help.

Secure storage space near Porches/Lagoa - donations are increasingly difficult to accept as we don’t have anywhere suitable to store them.

Blanket and sleeping bags – clean and in good condition.

A vehicle - Agape urgently needs a suitable car, perhaps through sponsorship, donation or loan. There are already occasions when we aren’t able to get to someone who needs help because we don’t have transport.

Volunteer - Picking up and dropping off donations, fundraising, driving somebody to an appointment, sorting donations, making meals, etc.

mailto:https://agapehomeless.org/

+351 912 711 888

info@agapehomeless.org